


and anyway it's the same old story

by and_hera



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Suki (Avatar), Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Sparring, suki and zuko more like wlw and mlm solidarity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:42:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25656865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/and_hera/pseuds/and_hera
Summary: Omi, the woman in charge, she laughed. But she didn’t laugh her off. She laughed because she thought Suki might be right. Okay, Suki, she said, you can start training. Learn what you must and become fierce. I believe you.or, Suki learns to spar.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Background), Suki & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 87





	and anyway it's the same old story

**Author's Note:**

> suki and zuko are actually incredibly fun to write i had no idea  
> this is a suki character study that doubles as suki and zuko sparring for funsies at the western air temple at like three in the morning. all good conversations happen at three in the morning.  
> title is from the poem "dogfish" by mary oliver  
> comments and kudos are my favorites! talk to me on twitter @lcvelaces!! i hope you enjoy <3

Being a person is difficult on the best of days. Everyone knows that.

However, being a teenager is _harder_.

Suki is new here. She hasn’t really been a part of the gang for long, considering that she was just broken out of prison and that before she was in prison she was busy doing Kyoshi warrior things. (yes, Sokka, they are important and useful towards the war, we aren’t just teaching sexist men to stop being sexist all the time.)

Suki is new here, but she’s bright. Always has been. She’s good at group dynamics and she’s good at reading a room, two very important traits when entering a new territory. And while she feels perfectly safe with these people, it is still a new territory.

There are many people at the Western Air Temple, and they can be divided into groups: group A and group B. The members of group B are a small boy named The Duke, a boy in a wheelchair named Teo, and there is a tall earthbender named Haru, not including the man who broke out of prison with them and Hakoda. Group A consists of a core five: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko.

Suki is still working on where she fits in this setting. She sleeps on the same rollout as Sokka though, and as far as she can tell, everything is determined by the sleeping arrangement, so. Maybe the core five will become the core six. Suki is willing to make space for herself.

The thing is, she looks at these groups, these survivors, and all she can see is _children_. The Avatar is twelve years old. Toph is twelve. Katara is barely fourteen. Suki can’t figure out why these kids are at the heart of this war.

(she knows this includes herself. she knows that while she’s almost sixteen, that’s still just sixteen. she knows that she and Sokka and Zuko look older than the rest, but they are still too young.

(but they don’t have baby faces anymore, they don’t have too wide eyes and dimples on their chins. yes, Suki and Sokka and Zuko are young, but their eyes are hard, and their angles are sharp. and in a war, that’s what matters.)

(at least, that’s what Suki tells herself.)

So, Suki looks at these kids and she decides that, well, if they don’t have a big sister to look up to, that’ll be her.

Katara comes to her one day when she finishes Aang’s waterbending lesson and shyly asks her how to do eyeliner. Suki grins and has her sit down and shows her how to keep her hand steady but not too stiff. “Almost like waterbending,” Katara says, and Suki says “I wouldn’t know, but I’ll take your word for it.” Another day, Toph comes to her and sits down hard on the stone and doesn’t say a word for a moment. Suki waits, though, and eventually Toph asks her if she knows how to put on mascara. Toph looks like she will punch someone or cry if asked why. So Suki gently puts it on, careful not to smudge or to hit Toph’s eye. “Katara and I went out and got a makeover once,” Toph says eventually, and Suki says “that sounds really nice. I wish I could have been there.”

One night, Sokka is sleeping as heavy as he normally does, and Suki wakes up. It took her a long time to get used to Sokka’s heavy breathing as he sleeps, and the way he absentmindedly puts an arm on her waist. But it isn’t him who woke her this time— this time, it’s just herself, her lack of a sleep schedule. Her inability to stay still for fear of attack.

She gets up as quietly as she can, putting her pillow where she was so Sokka doesn’t notice a difference in sleep. Zuko is missing from his sleeping bag.

Zuko is the one that Suki is never sure about, because he is new like her. There _is_ the key factor that Suki didn’t try to kill them all multiple times, so Suki is pretty sure that she was accepted into the group with more open arms than he was. But if there’s one thing Suki knows, it’s that forgiveness is a powerful thing if applied correctly, so she applies it. Suki knows more than anyone about making mistakes. She’s been there.

Zuko is in a different clearing, and he has dual blades out, practicing forms and technique. She watches only for a moment before making herself known. He pauses.

“Suki,” he says.

“Zuko,” she says.

“Did I wake you?” he asks, looking almost upset. “I’m sorry, I thought I was being quiet.”

“No, no,” Suki says quickly. “Not at all. I’m just... not the best sleeper. I think you’d understand.”

Zuko nods once. They stare at each other for a moment. Suki, as always, is careful not to look at his scar.

“Do you want to spar?” Suki asks, and Zuko blinks.

“Alright,” he says carefully, as if testing her. She smiles.

“Just with fists, if that’s alright,” she says. “I don’t happen to have any weapons to use for myself on hand.”

Zuko puts his swords in their sheath and then puts the sheath on the ground. “I haven’t done this in a while,” he says, squaring his shoulders. “So, sorry.”

Suki grins, and it’s like she’s baring her teeth. “Go.”

They look at each other for a moment, and then Suki steps towards him and he steps towards her and they fight. It’s fun, actually, because Suki is solid in her steps, careful and planned, and Zuko is fast and always on the offensive. Earth versus fire. And he’s good, lack of practice or no. She kicks out her leg and he dodges; he goes to hit her arm and she’s already gone. If Suki were a romantic (or in any way attracted to Zuko), she might say it’s like a dance.

“You’re a fighter,” she says when she has breath to spare. “You’re pretty good, Prince Zuko.”

“Not a prince anymore,” he shoots back, dodging her strike. “But thank you. You’re pretty good yourself.”

Suki smirks. “Pretty good?” she asks lightly, and then she kicks out again and he doesn’t have the time to dodge. He goes down, and she stands over him, waiting just a beat before holding out a hand to help him up. “I’m a Kyoshi warrior,” she says. “I’ve been doing this my whole life.”

Zuko takes her hand. “I can tell,” he says, and he’s sincere. He’s been sincere this whole time. Suki doesn’t need Toph’s ability to know that. “Would you be willing to teach me some of your stances? I don’t recognize them.”

“Yeah, alright,” Suki says easily, because okay, this boy nearly burned down her home, but it looks like he’s doing his best to make up for that now. Suki isn’t about to deny him the ability to atone. “Only if you trade me. Teach me how you move so fast, and we’re even.”

And _there’s_ a smile. It’s small, but a smile. “Deal,” Zuko says.

* * *

When Suki was seven years old, she decided she was going to become a warrior.

Well, no, that’s not entirely true. Suki has always known that’s she’s doing to be a warrior. Her mother died when Suki was young, but she was a warrior, too, and Suki has always wanted to be exactly like her. So when she was seven, she went to the warrior’s place, and she told them that she wanted to learn how to fight.

The women there did not laugh her off, like she had expected. They told her, come back when you’re a little older, Suki. We don’t start training until you’re nine. But Suki was impatient, and her mother had died ten months ago, and she was tired of waiting. Suki was so tired of waiting. She hid in the shadows and watched their training, and she started practicing on her own. Their moves were much too complicated for her, but she got the basics. When they found her a few months later, she told them that okay, maybe she’s only eight, but she’s fiercer than any of them.

Omi, the woman in charge, she laughed. But she didn’t laugh her off. She laughed because she thought Suki might be right. Okay, Suki, she said, you can start training. Learn what you must and become fierce. I believe you.

So Suki learned. Suki spent four years learning.

She was twelve when the Fire Nation attacked and took all of the warriors that were older than sixteen. And she was the best out of the ones left over, so she became the leader. She was the fiercest.

Suki hopes that Omi thinks she is still the fiercest now. Suki hopes that Omi is okay. Suki knows that she isn’t.

* * *

“When do you ever sleep?” Suki asks one night. She and Zuko are sitting on the hard ground, the two swords sitting in their sheath between them like a barrier. “Sokka just thinks that I’m still making up for sleep from Boiling Rock when I sleep in. You get up at sunrise to do your exercises with Aang.”

Zuko shrugs. His shoulders are tense. His shoulders are always tense. He carries himself like he’s something to be afraid of, or like he’s always afraid. Suki hasn’t decided which. “I don’t need a lot of sleep,” he says.

“What, is that a firebender thing?” Suki says lightly.

“More like a ‘my sleep schedule is fucked and I don’t have time to fix it before the world ends’ thing,” Zuko answers, but he’s smiling that small smile again, so Suki knows he’s not meaning to bring down the room. Suki laughs quietly so he knows that she gets it.

“You should still try to do something about it,” she says. “Reset your sleep schedule. It might help you have more energy. I don’t know anything about bending, but maybe it would make things easier.”

Zuko looks to the side. “I don’t really know,” he says quietly. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time. If a lack of rest has an effect, I wouldn’t know. It might help. I’m not sure, though.”

“It can’t hurt to try.” Suki meets his eyes. His face is gaunt and it might be beautiful but mostly he looks tired. Suki wants him to not look like he’s tired for once. She wonders what Zuko sees in her face.

“I suppose not,” he agrees. They both know that he won’t sleep any more than he already does. It was worth a try, though.

* * *

Suki was thirteen when the next attack came.

She wasn’t the oldest, there were a few ~~girls~~ warriors who were fifteen and one that was fourteen, but she was the best fighter and she had been around the longest, so she was in charge anyway. Everyone on Kyoshi Island knew it was only a matter of time before the Fire Nation returned to take more of their warriors. Suki was determined that her warriors would be ready.

Surprise surprise, they were not. They were not ready for them. The Fire Nation took more of their girls. They were so young.

And Suki remained, because of _course_ she did. Suki was in charge. She managed to stay somehow. She managed to survive, because everyone knew that being taken was as good as death.

It was her fault, though. It was her fault that her warriors were gone and she would have to pay for it. She would have to atone.

She did. The next time the Fire Nation came, the Kyoshi warriors were victorious. Suki cried after the battle.

* * *

“Widen your stance,” Suki says, and Zuko does. “Lower yourself. Keep your feet planted but also be ready to move when needed. Be steady but relaxed.”

“This is like earthbending,” Zuko says, and it isn’t a question.

“Well, I am from Kyoshi Island,” Suki begins.

“And she was an earthbender,” Zuko finishes.

Suki approaches from behind him and jabs his arm. He spins around and hits back, and Suki grins. “I’m surprised you know anything about Kyoshi,” Suki says.

“Yeah, well, I know a lot about a lot of Avatars,” Zuko replies, and this time he kicks out at Suki and she narrowly dodges it. He’s getting better. “When your only purpose in life is finding one, you study up on the others.”

Suki pauses. “Your only purpose was finding the Avatar?”

Zuko doesn’t. He kicks her in the chest and even though it isn’t hard, she doesn’t bother to stop herself from going down. He waits a beat before lifting a hand to help her up. “I would have thought the others have told you all about that by now,” he says. “I did chase them for a while.”

“Yeah, but...” Suki tries to think of a way to phrase it. “I always thought it was just an assignment. Doing what your father wanted.”

“Technically, yes,” Zuko agrees. “I was banished. Finding the Avatar was the only way to come home.”

“Oh,” Suki says, because she isn’t sure what else to say. She and Zuko look at each other for a moment. Zuko looks like he is ashamed. Zuko is such a shameful thing. “Well, fuck your home,” she says eventually, and he looks so taken aback by her bluntness that she laughs at the expression on his face, and then he laughs with her. “You don’t need that home. You’ve got a new family, yeah?”

Zuko freezes like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Including you?” he asks.

“Obviously,” Suki says. “Everyone here likes you. Maybe not Katara yet, but she’s stubborn, and she’s still figuring things out. She’ll get there. And you did save me from prison. The F in friendship stands for _freeing people from jail_. Or something.”

“That was a stretch.”

“Nah. I’m hilarious.”

Zuko looks at her and Suki looks at him. “Alright,” Zuko says eventually.

“Alright,” Suki agrees.

“I’ll teach you how to use my blades tomorrow.”

“Oh, were you waiting for a heart to heart before letting me try them?”

“No, I was—”

“If I had known, I would have made you stop being so emotionally constipated like, a week ago!”

“Wh- emotionally constipated? I am not!”

* * *

Suki first learned to fight by copying older Kyoshi warriors. She watched them doing their moves and then mimicked them exactly until she was as good as one can expect a seven-year-old to be. They found her out, and she became an actual warrior. That’s the story.

But then she had to learn how to fight with _others_ , and that took a lot longer.

“Have you ever sparred?” a girl a few years older than Suki asks. Suki is sitting in the courtyard reading a book under a tree. She has her fans with her, the ones she earned when she was old enough.

“No,” Suki replies. She’s nine now. “But I’ve learned all the techniques and stuff.”

“That’s not the same as sparring,” the girl says smugly. Her name is Naya, or maybe it’s Niya. “What good are your techniques if you can’t use them in battle?”

Suki frowns. “I can use them in battle,” she says determinedly. “Let’s spar. I bet I’ll beat you.”

Naya shrugs, and she picks up her fans from where she left them on the ground. Suki already has hers clutched tightly in her fists. Naya is poised, and she’s still smiling that know-it-all smile, and Suki wants to punch it off.

Suki stands on her tiptoes. Naya attacks first. She is fast and light, but Suki is faster and lighter. Suki ducks under her fans that are spinning wildly and knocks Naya in the back with one of her own. Naya stumbles. She isn’t smiling anymore.

She walks back towards Suki, and the edge of her fan grazes Suki’s arm. It bleeds. Suki rolls to the side and gets Naya’s leg. It bleeds. As far as Suki knows, sparring only goes until blood is drawn, if even that far. As far as Suki knows, sparring is supposed to be friendly. Naya does not look friendly. Suki is still on the ground, and she’s nine years old and tiny, and Naya is at least thirteen and looks so much bigger from down here.

“Hey, Niya,” someone calls, and Naya—no, her name is Niya— looks up from Suki. “What are you doing with that kid? Omi will kill you if you fuck her up.”

Niya sneers at Suki once before stalking away to her friends, Suki assumes. She bandages her arm and doesn’t speak of it again. She does start sparring with others, though, because she needs to be able to win next time Niya attacks her.

She needs to be able to win.

* * *

“Think of the swords being an extension of your arms,” Zuko says, fixing her grip on the long handles. “They’re not any different from you.”

“They are made of metal,” Suki says. “I’m decidedly not.”

Zuko gives her a look, and she can’t help but smirk. He rolls his eyes and continues. “You’re a good fighter. You know how to handle yourself. Swords are a little different, though. Since you have two, there’s no shield for yourself. You need to be more on the offensive and do less waiting like you do when we spar.” He pauses. “The dual blades are sacred weapons of the Fire Nation. You have to prove yourself.”

Suki hums, and she spins one of the swords around in her hand. “You know, there’s a joke I could make about sword lengths and a need to prove yourself, but I’m going to spare you.”

“I appreciate it,” Zuko says dryly. “Try doing something like this.” He moves slowly, doing some complicated motion with his arms. Suki does her best to copy him. She’s a bit clumsy. She’ll pick it up, though. Zuko got Earth Kingdom fighting techniques down quickly enough. “Not bad,” he says. “Your grip is too loose, though.”

Suki flexes her fingers. The grip on the swords is different than her fans, but the idea is still the same, and swords are more for offense than defense, but she thinks she can get the hang of it anyway. “This isn’t too bad,” she says. “You’re an alright teacher, Zuko.”

“Thanks,” he replies. “Aang says that too. I’m not sure if I believe him, though, because that kid seems to be excited about everything.”

Suki smiles. “That’s Aang for you. Most excitable Avatar out of all the reincarnations. Or maybe he’s just twelve.”

Zuko does the motion again. Suki copies him, and it’s easier this time. She does it again and again without Zuko telling her to until she’s quicker than he was.

“You’re good,” Zuko says, like he always does.

“I know,” Suki replies. “I’ve worked hard to be.”

“Why don’t you sleep?” Zuko asks her.

Suki does the motion again, her arms fluid now and her grip steady. She meets Zuko’s eyes. “Where I’ve been for the past few months makes having a proper sleep schedule difficult,” she says, and he winces. She sighs. “I need to be awake to protect them. In case someone attacks. I’m a fighter, and I’m a guard. I can handle it.”

Zuko nods like he understands, and Suki thinks that he probably does.

“Teach me the next set,” she says, and he does.

* * *

Being a person is hard. Being a teenager is harder.

Suki has fallen in love twice.

She’s fifteen, and honestly it’s a bit surprising that it’s happened twice. Fifteen-year-olds don’t find love that often. But to be fair, she doesn’t know if she can count the first time as love. She was thirteen, and there was a warrior. Her name was Lia. Suki shared a room with her, and they kissed a few times, and then the Fire Nation raided their island and Lia was gone.

Lia was beautiful. Her hair was long and darker than Suki’s. She was always better at getting her makeup even than Suki was. She liked to sing. Suki always loved to hear her sing, even if there weren’t words. Music was rare in their village during that time, because everyone was always so afraid, but Lia was never afraid. She was Suki’s age but she was never afraid.

And then she was gone. Maybe she should have been afraid, because fearlessness got her nowhere in the end.

The second time Suki fell in love was with a boy from the Southern Water Tribe. You know where this story is going.

Sokka. He is bright and he is beautiful and he’s smart as anything. He wasn’t at first, because he was arrogant and rude and frankly sexist, but he was willing to learn, and that meant a lot. Suki dressed him up and painted lines on his face like Lia painted lines on hers. Sokka learned and he fought and he was good.

Then he had to go, as soon as he came, but Suki knew she would see him again. Their story wasn’t over yet.

This is not a love story. Suki can’t stress this enough. This story is about a war; it’s about children too young to pick up a sword picking one up anyway and winning the day. This story is about a boy with arrows on his hands and a smile that lights up a room; this story is about a girl whose anger is as sharp as her ice but whose kindness is as forgiving as rain; this story is about a boy with nothing but a boomerang and his wit becoming someone to be feared; this story is about a girl who doesn’t see with her eyes and is fierce as anything. This story is about a boy with a scar who overcomes what he's been taught his whole life long.

Maybe this story is about Suki, too.

But it isn’t a love story. In this world, there is love, yes, but it is of any consequence? Is it something worth mentioning? In a story with bending and fear and bravery, is there room for love? Suki doesn’t think so. At least, not yet.

Suki falls in love, and it isn’t the end of the world. She doesn’t kiss a boy under the moonlight but she kisses him under the sun and he’s beautiful and kind and good. She curls up next to him at night even when she’s restless and he understands her in a way that most do not. Suki falls in love with Sokka, and she’s learning to live with that.

Being a person is hard. Being a teenager is harder. And love is the most difficult thing of all.

* * *

“Spirits, you’d think that sparring in the middle of summer would ensure that you’re hot, but it’s actually pretty cold tonight,” Suki says conversationally as she rolls to avoid Zuko’s arm.

“I don’t really get cold,” Zuko replies. He spins around and blocks Suki before she can hit his side from behind. “Firebenders run hot.”

“Well, I don’t think you’re all that attractive, but sure,” Suki says with a grin. Zuko doesn’t deign her with a response, which is a shame. At first, Suki could get him to freeze up long enough for her to knock him over. “Well, if you run warm, can you make it warmer out here? It would be appreciated.”

Zuko lands a good hit on Suki’s shoulder, sending her reeling back, and then he pauses. The next time he exhales, Suki swears she can see licks of fire coming from his mouth. And suddenly the whole place is warmer. She kicks the back of his knee and he falls over.

“Is this how you repay me?” he asks sarcastically, and takes her hand to stand up. “I feel very appreciated.”

“Why thank you, mighty Zuko,” Suki says grandly. “You warmed the air around us and you warmed my heart.”

Zuko smiles. That’s one thing Suki is proud of: Zuko smiles more and more lately, at least during their nightly sparring sessions. He’s still depressed and probably needs some therapy and better parents, but they all do, really, and if Suki can make him smile more, she’ll do it.

“Can we pause for a minute?” Zuko asks, and Suki nods. She sits down, crossing her legs, and Zuko sits down next to her.

“This is when it would be nice to have Toph around,” Suki mutters. “She’d make us more comfortable seats.”

Zuko shrugs. “Bold of you to assume she would listen to a thing either of us say.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

The silence is comfortable. There are noises of bugs and whatever other nocturnal animals live around the Western Air Temple. Suki looks up at the sky, making the constellations she remembers from her childhood: the badgermole, the lionturtle, the foxjay. There are more. She doesn’t know all of them, or maybe she just doesn’t remember them.

Oh, there’s the Avatar. She remembers that one. It’s not so much as a person as it is a shape that can be made into a person. The significant part is the line going across its face, supposed to be the glowing eyes.

“Zuko,” she says, “how long were you chasing the Avatar? Aang?”

“Three years,” he replies almost instinctively. “Since I was thirteen.”

“That’s before Aang was even out of the iceberg,” Suki says.

“I wasn’t meant to go back home,” Zuko says.

Suki bumps his shoulder with hers. “I’m sorry the Fire Nation is so awful.”

Zuko smiles halfheartedly. “Yeah, me too. It wasn’t always this way. The Fire Nation wasn’t always terrible and evil.”

“Maybe one day you’ll make it better again,” Suki says easily, as if things could ever be that simple. As if she believes that they’ll win in the end.

“Yeah, maybe,” Zuko says, and she knows that he doesn’t really believe it either, but neither of them call the other out.

“You do really run warm, don’t you,” Suki says, and she leans into Zuko’s side. He freezes like he doesn’t know what to do with himself, and then relaxes slightly, putting an arm around her shoulder. “I can’t believe everyone in camp was pissed at you for so long. All they needed to do was give you a hug.”

“Suki,” Zuko says hesitantly, “I _do_ have a girlfriend. Well. I did. We broke up, I think? And then she saved my life, but I think she’s still mad at me. Anyway, the point is—”

“Oh, the girl with the knives is your girlfriend?” Suki says lightly. “Good taste. She’s pretty! But to be honest, I thought you had a crush on my boyfriend.”

Zuko stammers. “What? Suki, no, he’s totally in love with you, and I wouldn’t- and I still like Mai- No. No, definitely not—”

Suki laughs, bright and loud. “Zuko, I’m just teasing. It’s alright.”

He shakes his head as if shaking out his thoughts. “Yeah,” he says evenly. “Definitely.”

“And no one would be mad if you _did_ have a crush on Sokka.”

“Suki!”

* * *

Niya was sixteen when the Fire Nation raided, so she was taken away. Suki never got the chance to spar with her again. At that point, Suki was old enough to know that Niya was bullying her more than she was trying to actually practice, but it had felt like a promise. That one day, Suki and Niya would continue their little battle, and maybe Suki would come out on top this time.

But Niya’s gone. Suki doesn’t know where she is. Suki doesn’t know where any of the warriors that were once with her are. They’re just gone, more victims to this never-ending war.

So, with no promised sparring match, Suki fought with the girls remaining. She was already fierce, she has always been fierce, but now the war sharpened her to a point. Her elbows jutted out and her teeth were sharp. Suki’s role, the Kyoshi warriors’ role, was to be a steady force. To be like the earth. To not be predictable, but to be dependable. But Suki has always wanted to bite off a bit more than she can shew. Suki has always been a bit too brave. Some people would call it anger.

So, Suki taught the other girls to do the same. She called it ferocity.

She never sparred with Niya again. She fought with plenty of others, she learned to fight with different opponents, she memorized her teammates styles and tells, but Suki never saw Niya and she always felt like it was her fault.

* * *

One night, Suki wakes up and stretches and walks to the usual place she and Zuko spar, the place that can’t accurately be described as a room since it has no walls but has a stone floor, and when she finds Zuko he’s sitting on the edge of the temple, his feet dangling in the air.

“Hey,” she says as she walks behind him, trying not to scare him. He doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t tell her to go away either, so she sits down beside him. “What’s up?”

“Do you ever wonder how I got my scar?” he asks bluntly and Suki exhales.

“Yes,” she says, “but you don’t have to tell me. It’s not my business.”

Zuko still doesn’t look at her. “Today’s the anniversary of when my father exiled me. I think. I might have it off by a day.”

Oh. “Are the two things connected?” Suki asks gently, and he nods. “Well,” she begins, “at least in a few weeks, your father will be dealt with for good, right?”

Zuko scoffs. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Do you ever wish you were the one who gets to kill him?” Suki asks before she can stop herself.

“Yes,” Zuko answers without hesitation.

Suki takes his hand, squeezes it. “The Fire Nation raided Kyoshi Island when I was twelve. They took every warrior older than sixteen away. I don’t know what happened to them. But I was the best out of everyone left, so I’ve been the leader ever since.”

Zuko says, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Suki chides. “It’s not your fault. You were twelve, too.”

“Aang’s twelve now,” Zuko says. “And he’s supposed to end the war. Kill the Fire Lord. Save the day, once and for all. Master all the elements.”

“Do you think he will?” Suki asks.

Zuko sighs. “I hope so,” he says. “I really hope so. If anyone deserves to get attacked with all four elements at once, it’s my father.”

“I second that.”

Zuko doesn’t smile, but it’s something close to it. “One day I’ll tell you,” he says. “About my scar. It’s not a very good thing to hear.”

“I don’t mind waiting,” Suki says. “And I’m sorry it’s such a terrible story.”

“Don’t apologize,” Zuko says, and Suki smiles.

* * *

When the war ends, Zuko has a starburst star on his chest to match Aang’s on his back. When the war ends, Sokka’s leg is broken and he can barely stand. When the war ends, Toph has nightmares and scratches from metal all over. When the war ends, Katara stays up all night healing and watching over everyone and never herself. When the war ends, Aang cries for a long time, clinging to Katara’s shirt, surrounded by everyone else.

When the war ends, Suki didn’t end up fighting anyone with her hands. She used her wits, and she steered Fire Nation airships into other Fire Nation airships, and all of her training ended up not being all that necessary.

They make it back to the Fire Nation and they find Katara and Zuko in Zuko’s room. Zuko is half-asleep and Katara looks like she wants to join him. Everyone is tired.

“What happened,” Suki says to Zuko, gesturing to his new scar.

“Azula,” he says with a grimace. “I bet if we had sparred, I would have come out on top, though.”

Suki laughs, and Zuko almost laughs but it’s more of a wheeze, and then she’s crying and she wants to hug him but she’s afraid it’ll ruin whatever healing Katara has already begun. She takes his hand and squeezes it.

“Yeah,” she says, “I bet you would’ve.”


End file.
